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him out. What’s his full name?
     
    Chelsea: Brian Steinway
     
    Damien: Like the piano.
     
    Chelsea: Yes. LOL.
     
    Damien: Any other info?
     
    Chelsea: Born in Iowa, works at Hewlett Packard, lives in Sunnyvale.
     
    Damien: Alright.
     
    Damien went quiet after that. I didn’t hear from him again until there was a knock at the door about twenty minutes later.
    I opened. “What’s up?”
    “I came to tell you the news in person.”
    “What news?”
    “I looked up the guy you’re dating.”
    “And?”
    “Well…I’m afraid…” He scratched his chin.
    “What? Tell me!”
    “Nothing. Completely legit.” He grinned.
    “You scared me,” I said, smacking him playfully.
    Damien bent down to lift something off the ground. It was my basket, sans muffins. “Here’s your basket back.” He’d thrown in a bottle of white along with some cookies that smelled like they’d just been baked.
    “What’s this for?”
    “It’s a thank you for the muffins. I’ve eaten like three of them today. They’re delicious.”
    “You didn’t have to do anything. The muffins were to thank you for helping at Arts Night.”
    “Well, that was nothing. So, I consider the muffins a gift. I don’t accept anything without reciprocating. It’s just how my mother brought me up.”
    I took a bite into one of the gooey chocolate chip cookies and spoke with my mouth full. “These are so good. I think you might have unintentionally started a bake off. I can’t cook, but I can make desserts.”
    “Oh, it’s on!” he joked. “I try to eat healthy, but pastries, cookies, cake…all baked goods…they’re my weakness.” He stole one of the cookies and took a bite. “Well, I just wanted to give you the info and the cookies.”
    “Thanks again.”
    Don’t go.
    As he started to walk away, I stopped him. “Damien?”
    He turned around. “Yeah?”
    “Do you have plans right now?”
    “No.”
    “Would you want to watch a movie?”
    He bit his bottom lip to ponder my question then smirked. “Only if I can pick the movie.”
    “Sure.”
    “You have a DVD player?”
    “Yes.”
    “I’ll come back in a half-hour.”
     
    ***
     
    The exaggerated banging on the door was rhythmic. “Knock. Knock.”
    After I let him in, Damien looked down at my outfit. “You’re still dressed up.”
    He’d changed into gray sweatpants that clung to his junk in a way that now ruled out absolutely any chance that he wasn’t blessed in that department. The top of his boxer briefs was sticking out a bit.
    Damn.
    Prying my eyes up, I said, “I didn’t realize this was a slumber party.”
    He moved past me, leaving me with a whiff of his arousing smell. “Well, we’re watching a movie. I figured I’d get comfortable. But feel free to stay in a dress . Yeah, that makes perfect sense.”
    After our talk, why did I even bother to look good around him anymore?
    He was right.
    “Okay, wiseass, I’m going to change into my sleep clothes.”
    He lifted a microwavable packet that he’d brought and shook it. “I’ll make popcorn and set up the DVD player.” He looked around. “Bowls are where?”
    I pointed to one of the cabinets. “In there.”
    “Sweet.”
    “You’ll have to change the TV mode to composite two. It’s the Sony remote,” I said as I walked to the bedroom.
    “Got it,” he yelled after me.
    Even though my mind knew that Damien had closed the door on the possibility of anything romantic happening between us, my nerves certainly hadn’t gotten the message. Slipping out of my dress, I still felt like a giddy fool. My heart was beating just a bit faster than normal as I threw on some black leggings along with Elec’s old Bruins shirt that I often slept in. Feeling a slight rumbling in my stomach, I decided I should probably take this opportunity to use the bathroom.
    Shitting yourself in more ways than one, eh, Chelsea?
    My bathroom trip took longer than expected. It surprised me that Damien wasn’t giving me hell for